Welding apparatus



April 9, 1935. B. BURNS WELDING APPARATUS Filed June 12; 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 M u m5 mm vu M ATTORNEY April 9, 1935. B. BURNS 1,996,901

WELDING APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1933 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V E N TOR BRUCE BURNS MrW A TTORNE) April 9,1935.

B BURNS WELDING APPARATUS Filed June 12, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVE N TOR BRUCE BUR/VS.

4 T TO/PNE Y meted Apr. 9, 1935 J WELDING ArrAnA'rns Bruce Burns, Santa Monica, Calif., asslgnor to The Northrop Corporation, Inglewood, Calif., a corporation of California Application June 12, 1933, Serial No. 675,396

12 Claims.

My invention relates to weldingparticularly to machines for welding materials of high thermal andelectrical conductivity and' small cross sections, such as the aluminum and aluminum alloy parts of metal airplanes. I The spot welding process is, in many ways, peculiarly suited to aircraft construction. Not only is there a saving in weight, due to the absence of rivet heads, but there is also the gain iiivolved in the elimination of the skin friction or drag due to those rivet heads, and an increase in security in the elimination ofdanger of the working of the rivets.

Until recently, however, the spot welding oi the light aluminum and alloy sheets which are used in such craft has appeared to be impractical. The high thermal and electricalconductivity of the sheets has required that the welding current be supplied-at very high densities and for extremely short periods of time, and the thinness of the section utilized, in connection with the aforementioned factor, has required extremely accurate regulation of both time and. current factors if satisfactory welds are to be made. The result has been that a number of the problems inherent in all spot welding operations have become so important as to take on a wholly new aspect, and thebroad purpose of this invention has been to provide, a method and. apparatus for spot welding which oilfers a solution to certain of the more harassing of these problems.

Thus the current 'densitiesused, which are of the order of three million amperes per square inch, require that the low tension leads be kept short, and one of the objects of this invention is to provide a machine wherein the lengths of secondary leads is reduced to a minimum. Another aspect of this same problem is the diiliculty of supplying current at high intensities 40 to both sides of sheets of large area, and a corresponding object of this invention is to provide a'welding machine wherein the'current leads are brought to one side only of the work to be welded. Another diiliculty or disadvantage inherent in the high current density factor of the problem is that the connected load on the supply system is extremely large in comparison with the actual energy used, and another of the objects of this invention is the reduction of the charge rality of welds at the same time without adding materially to the connected loadl Considered from the aspect of the frailty of the structures used in aircraft construction, one

of the difllcultiesinvolves the tendency of reinmachines, and

" thus imposed against the work by forming a plu- (01; 219-4 forcing'bars to twist or warp in response to the unequal heating and coolinginvolved in making the weld, and yet another object of this invention is to prevent such warping by forming simultaneous welds symmetrically with respect to the reinforcing member Furthermore, since thin sheets of trail material of varying contour must be welded without distortion, other objects of this inventionare to provide a machine wherein a plurality of welding electrodes may freely assum the contour of the work to be welded, and wherein, upon the assumption of such position by the electrodes, the necessary pressure may be applied thereto without deforming the structure. Other objects of my invention will be apparent or will be specifically pointed out in the description forming a part of this specification, but I do not limit myself to the embodiment of my invention herein described, as various forms may be '26 adopted within the scope of the claims.

Broadly considered, the method of my invention comprises making a pair of contacts with one surface of the work to be welded, providing a current path of lower resistance than that of the work itself and in parallel therewith upon the other side of the work, applying a suitable pressure uniformly to the contacts and passing a welding current through the contacts and said path in series, so that the current threadsthe work repeatedly to form a plurality of welds at the same time. The apparatus of my invention comprises a plurality of opposed pairs of electrode holders, together with means'for applying an equal pressure between the holders of the respective pairs and connections between the holders and the electrodes'carriedthereby to form a current path threading the successive electrodes inseries. Referring to the drawings: 7 A 1 g Figure l isanisometricviewofa machineemholdersare hydraulically operated. In

Figure 2 is a detail view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the operating mechanism of I the electrodes used in the machine of Figure 1'.

Figure 3 is an elevational view, also partly in section, of an electrode-holding device utilizing equalizing yokes for applying uniform pressure to.the opposed pairs of electrodes.

bodyin'g my invention, wherein the electrode Figure 4 is a'sectionai view, taken on the line.

Merrimam Figure 5 is a. perspective view of anenibodinient I are utilized to join sheet metal members of aluminum, magnesium, or the alloys of one orboth of these materials. In the typical case, the thickness of these members lies between .016 and .032 inches. If spot welds are to be substituted for these rivets, a weld of A; inch diameter is appropriate. v

In forming a weld of this character by ac-' cepted methods, a flat faced electrode forms a contact with one side of the work, the area of this electrode being much larger than the diameter of the weld. On .the opposite side of the work an electrode is used which has a body which may be'of approximately the same diameter as the first electrode, with anextremelyshort tip of the diameter of the weld projecting from the. body to form the welding contact.

The work to be welded is placed between the electrodes and a pressure of about 300 pounds, or nearly 25,000 pounds per square inch is applied. A current of say 35,000 amperes is then passed between the electrodes for a time which will vary from .01 to .10 seconds, depending upon the thicknessof the sheets which'are being welded.

If clean copper electrodes are used, and if the welds be accurately timed, this will yield a very satisfactory joint.

.In considering this technique, certain facts will be obvious. First, the extremely high current used requires heavy conductors for supplying the electrodes and the potential drop in these conductors, both resistive and reactive, forms a largeportion of the total impedance in the welding circuit. Second, the conductors must be of ample size to prevent heating, and should prefi erably be as short as it is possible to make them,

if the power taken from the supply circuit is to be economically used. The functioning of this introdes are placed on the opposite side, with a satisfactorily equalized'pressure applied to the weld will make two in series, and the difference -in the power drawn from the supply is not detectable by neans' of the ordinary vibrating oscillograph. Additional pairs of opposed electrodes may be added, and in actual practice-four opposed pairs "of welding electrodes have been used, the current passing through all-of them in series, and threading and re-threading the work from one side to the other, without detectable increase in the supply power required. Furthermore, owing to the thinness of the welded sheet mer t has further shown that shguld one of the welds lie unsatisfactory, because of 'dirt between the sheets or upon the electrodes, the remaining lower electrodes differ slightly form.- :The 75,-.

welds are apparently .unaffected, andv stand upunder test equally as well as singly made welds.

The instant invention is embodied in a general purpose machine shown in Figure 1. In this embodiment the welding transformer I, having the low tension terminals 2 and 3, forms a base for the machine, upon which is mounted the heavy c-shaped frame 5. The two arms of this frame end in the upper and lower hydrauliQwelding heads 6 and I, which are conveniently made substantially identical in structure, and one of which is shown in detail in Figure 2.

The head comprises ahollow reservoir 9,- of substantially the shape shown in Figure 1, and having a horizontal partition I 0 across the lower portion thereof. The topll of the reservoir is provided with heavy reinforcing ribs 2, and it is of course obvious that the entire reservoir must be made sufficiently strong to withstand the hydraulic pressure utilized to operate the ma-.

chine.

Alined holes in the'top II and the partition 10 are provided for each of the electrode holders or plungers M, a row of four of these plungers being provided in. the machine shown. The

lower end of each plunger is positioned by an insulatingbushing l5, whichmay be of hard fiber or other material capable of withstanding the mechanical stresses to which it is subjected,

as well as low electrical potentials, bushing being fitted into the hole-in the partition l0, and

providing a bearing for the plunger. The up per end of the plunger is alined by a bushing l6,

of'similar material, .which is provided with a flange l1, over which is fitted a cover plate I 9,

the latter covering the entire upper face of the reservoir 9 and serving toretain the bushings of each of the four plungers. A rubber or leather packing washeror gasket is mounted beneath the bushing l6 and is held in place thereby, serving as a seal against the pressure which'operates the plungers.

ring again to Figure 1, 'a supply pipe.22 delivers the hydraulic operating ,pressure from a. suitable source through branch supply pipes 24 and 25 to each of the two, heads, thus insuring that 'understatie conditions. equal pressure will be applied to each of the plungers in both heads.

' The lower end of each of the plungers H is preferably drilled .to provide a by-pass 26 which forms a passage from beneath the partition l0 to the reservoir space above it,-these by-passes obviating the necessity of providing additional openings through the partition Ill-which would be diflicult to form. p v The free end of the plunger is provided wit a shoulder .21, and is drilled axially and thread-' ed to receive the heavyboppr electrode '29. A threaded end .30 on the electrode screws into the body of the plunger, clamping the current supelectrode, which may be either cylindrical or prismoidal'in cross section, is formed with a hemispherical recess 3| for receiving a replaceable welding contact, a groove being formed adjacent the rim of the recess for receiving a re-. taining ringor snap ring 32 for holding the con-' tact in place.

The welding contactsused in the upper and .per electrode, which stead of being flat, is formed with a central tip 31, which is of the diameter of the weld, and about one-half of the diameter of the body proper. It will be seen that each contact forms with its electrode a ball-and-socket joint which enables the contact to aline itself with the surface of the work, even though this may be materially displaced from the plane perpendicular to that of the plungers. This is illustrated in the figure, where the two sheets ll,- constituting the work to welded, are shown as curved, requiring the various welding contacts to assume different angles.

The two welding heads t and 1 are mounted with their respective plungers in alinement, so that the eight plungers form four opposed and cooperating pairs of welding electrodes. The low tension transformer terminal 2 connects through a heavy supply lead 40 with the nearest of the lower electrodes. As the plunger is insulated, this necessitates that the current pass upward'through the work to the cooperating upis connected to the adjacent upper electrode by theflexible. connector 4|. In similar manner the path may be traced down through the work to the lower electrode, through the connector 42, thence back up through the work, the connector 43, down through the work again, and back to the transformer terminal 3 through the supply lead 45. It willthus be seen that the current is passed through the work repeatedly, threading it four successive times, and forming aweld at each point where it passes through the work.

necting leads ll to 48 inclusive, the plungers I are freely and separately movable. When material to be welded is placed between the separated plungers, and hydraulic operating liquid supplied through the pipe 22,- each of the plungers will advance, but a relatively slight force will restrain any of them, until all of the rest of them have been stopped. This, together with the self-alining feature of the welding contacts, permits the electrodes freely to assume the contour of the work. When this has beendone, however, further pressure applied through the supply pipe!!- applies an equal pressure to all of the points to be welded. When the proper pressure is reached, the welding current is supplied for the predetermined length of time, and the four welds are made at once. welds be satisfactory it is merely necessary that the impedance of the paths between adjacent electrodes through the conductors ll, 41 and #8 below in comparison to the impedance of the work, and if thecross section of of the magnitude of those here used, this condition willbe satisfled. Y '1 f An alternative form of pressure equalizing de vice, which is used in certain instances in place 7 metry. Each fact that the surface of the cylindrical body, in-

upper electrodes are pressure. Y Into this Owing to the flexibility of thesupply and conductor ll, so

this modification a pedestal mounted directly upon the of the hydraulic heads ures 3 and 4. In 1". which may be transformer or upon ends of which passes a horizontal bolt 82. Upon this bolt is journaled an equalizing yoke comprising a pair of yoke arms end ofthe pair of yoke arms carries a second bolt or shaft II, which in turn supports an electrodearrying secondary equalizing yoke II and 51. Each of the secondary equalizing yokes is journaled at its center, and

any other suitable support, carries a pair of upwardly projecting arms ll, through the upper in practice the two would usually be identical in structure, but as shown the two differ slightLv the adaptation to different forms of welding electrodes without the use of a multiplicity of figures.

The yoke 50 has a conical hole formed at each end thereof, into which is fitted a conical copper electrode 59, which is insulated from the yoke by an encircling insulating bushing 80. The supply lead Si is clamped to the end of the elec-- trode by a stud bolt and nut II. The upper end of the electrode is provided with a hemispherical recess which, carries a welding contact 84 which is similar in all respects to the contact 34 already described.

The alternative form of equalizing yoke 51 also has conical holes formed therein equidistant from its supporting shaft 55, which carry electrodes fl insulated by bushings II. In this case, however, the replacable welding contacts I! are merely plugs which are formed as frusta of cones, having slightly rounded bases, which fit into correspondingly shaped recesses ll formed in the upper faces of the electrodes.

Opposing this lower electrode-carrying structure is a similar arrangement upon'which the mounted. This comprises a plunger 18, which may be either mechanically or hydraulically rated to apply the welding plunger is screwed afork lower end a bolt ll upon which is journaled a unitary yoke 18. The electrodes II and II, which are themselves formed as secondary equalizing yokes, and comprise highly conductive bodies 82, having parallel reinforcing ribs II, are mounted on the ends of the yoke ll.

Each yoke-electrode is journaled on a bolt II and is insulated from the yoke 18 by an insulating bushing 80. In order better to support the pressure exerted by the yoke, an insulating half bushing l1, placed between the end of the yoke 18 and the to reinforce the journal bolt 8|.

The yoke-electrode face to carry contacts scribed in connection 16, carrying at its similar to contact I dewith the as carrying conical contacts, having faca provided withsiightly projecting cooperating with the rounded electrode contact II.

It will be seen adjacent electrode in the same yoke, while the contacts on the directly by the yoke itself. yokes l8 and heavy conducting body of the The adjacent electrodes on the II are connected by a flexible conthat the path of the current in yoke-electrode II or Ii, serves I II is recessed on its active tips, suitable for hydraulically equalized device. The yoke-electrode II is shown that each of the electrodes on a the lower yokes fl and I1 is insulated from the upper electrodes are connected fform previously ing and re-threading the work to form four.

tact, however, the

" Mounted above the 99 which carries the equaliz- 4 I this form of the device is similar to that in the described, the current'threadwelds simultaneously. Until all of the electrodes have contacted with the work, each is freely movable. Until this occurs, therefore, no pressure can be applied to the work by any of the electrodes, and allwill therefore adjust themselves to the contour of the fwork. When all full'welding pressure may be applied,'and it will be divided equally between the electrodes by the yokes, t being an extremely important feature w en the work is other than flat.

One of the principal advantages tion is that since a plurality of welds may be formed at one instant, these welds may be applied to the work symmetrically, so that the thermal expansion and following contraction caused thereby can be neutralized as between the two sides of the welded members, and distortion may consequently be eliminated.

The application of this principle to a specific purpose is indicated in the apparatus of Figures and following, which illustrate a machine particularly adapted to the welding of stiffening ribs onto sheets for use in airfoil structures and the like. These stiffening ribs may be semi-tubular, or may have the more complex form shown in the rib 90 of Figure 5, the ribs customarily being tapered toward the outer end of the wing in order to combine minimum weight. with the necessary strength. Where such a rib is welded'to the sheet 9|, first on one side andthen on the other, a strong tendency to twist and deform the sheet develops, but this tendency is completely neutralized when the welding is accomplished in the machine shown.

This form of welder also may conveniently be -mounted directly on the transformer, althoughother supporting bases may, of course, be used. To the support are secured massive copper electrode holders 92, of jaw-like form, to which supply leads 94 are connected. The jaws are mounted side-by-side, and holdthe electrodes 95, which are merelypopper blocks having elongated flat 1 welding surfaces, the longer axes of these surfaces being transverse to the direction of the rib to be welded. Adjacent to the electrodes 05 and parallel thereto, with its center line separated from distance equal to the desired separation of the welds, is an electrode 96 supported by a j -electrode holder ,91. This holder and its electro e is equal in length to the combined length of the two electrodes 95 plus their separation.

front electrodes just described, is a plunger ing yoke I00 joumaled on a pivot IOI between forked ends I02 of the plunger. Mounted on the ends of the yoke is a pair of shafts I04, which lie in the plane ofthe yoke and are threaded through the ends thereof for adjustment toward and away from the median plane of the, yoke. The inner ends of these shafts carry, pivotally mounted thereon, secondary yoke-electrode I05, the ends of which in turn carry the contact tips I00- The planes of the secondary yokes are perpendicular tofthe plane of the equalizing yoke I00,

and the welding tips are directly above the elec- The yokes I05 are mounted to the shaft I04 by of the electrodes are in con-- of my inven-v -may be used.

means of a pin I01 extending from the side of the yoke which fits in a hole drilled in the end of the shaft and is insulated therefrom by a bushing I09. An insulated screw ll0passes transversely through the wall of the recess thus formed, and is III in the end of the pin, to of the yoke from the the latter to engaged by a groove prevent the displacement end of'the shaft, while permitting rotate without rotating the yoke.

Means are provided for automatically adjusting the position of the yoke in accordance with the position of the work. A bracket clamp I I5 is secured to the end of the sheet 0! to, which the reinforcing bar is to be welded, and holds one end of a cable IIII, whose other end is secured by a similar clamp (not shown). The cable passes around a pulley II'I fixed to the end of the shaft I04, the size of the pulley being so chosen with respect to the pitch of the thread on the shaft I04 that as the sheet is moved through, the machine the pulley turns, advancing the shaft and the yoke I05 by the proper amount to accommodate for the taper of the stiffener.,

A somewhat different method of accomplishing the same result isshown in Figure I. this case the shaft I04 is not threaded, but is a simple plunger fitting within a suitable bore-in the yoke end, and urged toward the work by a compression spring H0. A collar I20 is clamped around the shaft adjacent the yoke, and carries a guide wheel I2I, this wheel engaging an angle bar I22'which is clamped to the plate Si in contact with the edge of the stiffener. As the plate is moved the angle bar and guide wheel maintain the yoke in proper position with relation to the stiffening bar. I g V Figure 8 shows still another method of accomplishing the same result. In this case, as in the case just previously described, the shaft I04 is a simple plunger fitted within a cylindrical bore; Hydraulic or air pressure applied through a fitting I25, at the end of the bore, urges the plunge 1,; forward, and its position relative to the work is regulated by the contact of an insulating button I26 with the side of the stiffening bar 90. It is obvious that the features of the two types of positioning means last described may be combined in various ways without departing from the spirit of thisiinvention, or that other methods of positioning the welding yoke In each of the forms of the machine which have been described, four pairs of contacts have beenused, but the invention is by no means lim-, ited to this number.

Any even number of electrode pairs will give the advantage of connecting both terminals of the welding transformer to the electrodes on. the same side of the work, which may be called the front electrodes, so that no leads need be connected to the back electrodes. On the other hand, any number of series welds, whether the number of pairs of electrodes be odd or even, will effect a reduction in the connected load and the power demands from the system, since, as has been shown, the resistance of one weld or of several welds in series is negligible as compared with the total impedance in the welding circuit. Four welds have been adopted in practice as giving simple form to the balancing yokes, and reducing the connected load materially, and because it has been found that up to this number of welds the short-circuiting effect of the work may safely be neglected, although a larger number of welds may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventi ,as exemplified by the appended claims.

vI claim:

1. A welder comprising the combinationwith a source of low tension high intensity current, of a pair of insulated electrodes connected to said source and mounted it) contact the same side of a unitary work sheet to be welded, a pair of connected electrodes mounted to contact theother side of the work only at surfaces in opposition to said first-mentioned electrodes, and means for applying an equalized pressure between said electrodes and the work.

2. A welder comprising the c bination with a source of low tension high intezity current, of a pair of insulated electrodes connected to said source and mounted to contact the same side of a unitary work sheet to be welded, a pair of connected electrodes mounted to contact the other side of the work only at surfaces in opposition to said first-mentioned electrodes, a pivotally mounted yoke supporting saidconnected electrodes; and means for applying pressure to said electrodes through said yoke;

3. A spot welding machine comprising a frame adapted to receive a unitary work sheet to be welded between portions on each side thereof, a

plurality of opposed pairs of electrodes mounted on said frame, means for advancing certain of saidelectrodes to *said work, means for connectirig certain adjacent electrodes apart from said sheet, and means insulating the connected electrodes from other electrodes on the same side of the work to form a series pathior the welding current tlu'ough said threading the work.

,4. A spot welding machine comprising a frame adapted to receive a unitary work sheet to be welded between portions on each side thereof, a plurality of opposed pairs of electrodes mounted on said frame means on said frame for applying substantially equal pressure between electrodes repeatedly opposed electrodes irrespective of the, alinement.

thereof with respect to other opposed pairs, means for connecting certain adjacent electrodes, apart from said sheet, and means insulating the '-connected electrodes from other electrodes 'on site sides of a unitary war the same side of the work to form a series path for the welding current through said electrodes repeatedly threading the work.

5. A spot-welding machine comprising a plu rality of pairs of opposed electrodes, means for supporting the electrodes of each pair on oppoh t to e welded, mounting means for said trodes adjustable in conformity with the contour of said work sheet by contact therewith, and adjustably mounted tips on each of said electrodes operated y i ntact with saidworkto provide for uniform contact 'witlrsaid work.

6. A spot welding machine comprising a plur'aiity of pairs of opposed electrodes. means for i supporting the electrodes of each pair on opposite-sides of a unitary work sheet to: be welded,

vmounting means for said electrodes adjustable to permit the individual pairs to position themin conformity with the contour ofsaid' work, means for applying substantially uniform pressure to' said electrodes irrespective of their to receive a unitary work sheet to be welded.

therebetween, hydraulic pistons mounted in opposition on each of said supporting members, electrodes mounted on each of said pistons, connections between said electrodes apart from said sheet to form a welding current path threading the work repeatedly substantially normally of the plane of said work and passing in series through successive pairs of opposed electrodes, and a common actuating supply for said pistons whereby substantially equal pressure is applied to each of said electrodes.

8. A spot welding machine'comprising a pair of insulated front electrodes, supply leads connected to said front electrodes, a pair of connected back electrodes, means for applying substantially equal pressure to said back electrodes to force them toward said front electrodes, and means for moving said back electrodes parallel to said front electrodes to'vary their position with respect thereto.

9. A spot welding machine comprising a pair of electrodes having relatively large weldingsurfaces positioned substantially in the same plane, a pair of cooperating electrodes having relatively smallsurface area mounted in opposition to said first-mentioned electrodes, means for adjusting said smaller electrodes laterally of said larger electrodes, and means for applying substantially equal pressure between the opposed electrodes.

-10. A spot welding machine comprising a pair of electrodes having relatively, large welding surfaces positioned substantially in the same plane, a pair of cooperating electrodes having relatively small surface area mounted in opposition to said first-mentioned electrodes, an equalizing yoke whereon 'said smaller electrodes are mounted, and means on said yoke for; positioning saidsinaller electrodes relatively to saidilarger electrodes.

11. A spot welding'machine comprising a pair ofelectrodes having relatively large welding surfaces positioned substantially in the, same plime, a pair of cooperating electrodes having relatively small surface area motmted ln'opposition to said first-mentioned electrodes, an equalizing yoke whereon said smaller electrodes are mounted, and

means on said yoke responsive to ,the positionof the work to be welded for; positioning said smaller electrodes relatively to said work and i d larger electrodes. a I 1 A spot welding machine comprising a pair I piwcssmns. 

